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This could be really bad, or no big deal. Friday night I was getting the Kawi ready to take on a long ride Saturday. When I changed the oil a couple of weeks ago, I thought I noticed contamination in the used oil, but I wasn't sure because the pan I drain into often has bits of oil-dry and crap like that in it. So, I cleaned the pan carefully and drained the oil. I ran my magnet tool around in the oil, but nothing came out. Then as I was finishing pouring the oil back into the crankcase, I noticed tiny particles in the bottom of the pan. Some looked metallic, some looked organic. I decided to take the Harley instead, but figured I'd ask the mechanic at Boca Cycle about it before I left Saturday.
The mechanic has a great reputation, and he said it was nothing unusual; don't worry about it. He also said I might want to get a magnetic drain plug if it really bothered me. So, I decided to ride the Kawi after all.
Since I'm not used to seeing contamination like that, here are my questions to our MO Panel of Experts:
1. Do you see particulate contamination in your engine oil when you drain it? Would you be alarmed if you did?
2. Do you think it's normal or typical for a high-milage engine like this I-4 to generate contamination like that? The bike is an 86, but the engine is from a 98.
3. Shouldn't that brand new oil filter I put in there be trapping this stuff anyway? There's a kit to change the cartridge filter to a spin on, think that would be a good idea?
4. The bike runs great. I rode over 400 miles Saturday, and it just hummed along. It's a little noisier that I'm used to in the top end, but then again, it's been 20 years since I had a Japanese I-4, maybe the valve noise is typical. If there is something wrong, I guess I could make it worse by riding it. Then again, I really don't know how much money I want to put into this bike. I could easily double or triple my investment in it if I started taking the engine apart.
What do you think?
The mechanic has a great reputation, and he said it was nothing unusual; don't worry about it. He also said I might want to get a magnetic drain plug if it really bothered me. So, I decided to ride the Kawi after all.
Since I'm not used to seeing contamination like that, here are my questions to our MO Panel of Experts:
1. Do you see particulate contamination in your engine oil when you drain it? Would you be alarmed if you did?
2. Do you think it's normal or typical for a high-milage engine like this I-4 to generate contamination like that? The bike is an 86, but the engine is from a 98.
3. Shouldn't that brand new oil filter I put in there be trapping this stuff anyway? There's a kit to change the cartridge filter to a spin on, think that would be a good idea?
4. The bike runs great. I rode over 400 miles Saturday, and it just hummed along. It's a little noisier that I'm used to in the top end, but then again, it's been 20 years since I had a Japanese I-4, maybe the valve noise is typical. If there is something wrong, I guess I could make it worse by riding it. Then again, I really don't know how much money I want to put into this bike. I could easily double or triple my investment in it if I started taking the engine apart.
What do you think?